Thursday, November 27, 2014

MAD has some seriously epic things in the works for Black Friday this year. While not all have been unveiled yet, yesterday MAD announced a new Black Friday exclusive series of blind bagged Micro Mad*l resin figures! After the first series sold out at New York Comic Con 2014, MAD’s bringing back these handmade 1.5” figures.

Limited to just 30 pieces, the Black Friday Micro Mad*l Resin Figure Series has a little bit of every type of colorway: metallics, tints, glitters, mixed parts, swirls and maybe some unknown surprises! The figures seen here and so much more go on sale at 12am CST on the blackest of Fridays, November 28th, at the MAD Toy Store.

Mondo has a ton of releases lined up for Black Friday 2014, but The Blot’s personal favorite is this killer Pulp Fiction screen print by Laurent Durieux! Produced in honor of the film’s 20th anniversary, this Pulp Fiction poster will be a timed release, meaning its run size will be set by the number of pieces ordered during window for ordering. The Pulp Fiction screen print will be available for pre-order beginning at a random time on Friday, November 28th, until 11:59pm on Monday, December 1st, at the Mondo online store. There is no limit on the number of prints you can purchase, and Mondo will be donating 10% of the proceeds to the Sally Menke Fellowship.

The Black Friday Exclusive Pulp Fiction by Laurent Durieux is a 24”x36” hand numbered screen print in honor of the film’s 20th Anniversary. It will retail for $60 each.

On Black Friday, Jermaine Rogers will be releasing the newest colorway of his awesome Aleppin Sane 8” vinyl bust! The Aleppin Sane image debuted on a well-known print that Jermaine created for the Foo Fighters 2008 tour, and has since become one of Jermaine’s more sought after releases in both designer vinyl and poster art circles. The “Glam” Aleppin Sane colorway is a fitting tribute to glam rocker David Bowie, who’s Aladdin Sane album the character pays tribute to. This metallic silver variant vinyl figure is limited to just 100 pieces and will retail for $75.

Jermaine is also dropping a “Glam” Variant Aleppin Sane screen print on Black Friday, which features rich colorful inks (including a metallic ink) on gallery stock. This Black Friday exclusive measures 23”x19” and is limited to just 100 signed and numbered pieces and will retail for just $50. And here’s a little secret, there will also be a super limited foil edition of this print available! Finally a chance to get this awesome art print in a larger size! Both “Glam” Edition Aleppin Sane items seen here will drop at 3pm EST on the blackest of Fridays, November 28th, at the Jermaine Rogers online store.

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

As in years past, ESC Toy and Erick Scarecrow have a sick line up of Black Friday exclusive toys and prints lined up to drop this Friday! So many great releases The Blot can’t cover them all. But my favorite of the bunch is this beautiful Polar Opposite Frost 3” resin figure. Just look at all that detail on a hand sculpted mini figure! This colorway is an open edition (so we all have a chance at scoring one!) and will retail for just $20. Can’t beat that! The Polar Opposite Frost, and so much more, goes on sale at 12am EST on Black Friday, November 28th, at the ESC Toy online store.

Mattel’s seventh Masters of the Universe Minis 2 pack has been announced, and it includes the future ruler of Eternia, King He-Man, fan-demanded vintage figure Clawful, and a piece needed to build a mini Castle Grayskull with working Jaw Bridge. This is the sixth of six MOTU Minis 2 packs released exclusively at MattyCollector.com, with each set featuring a different piece of the mini Castle Grayskull.

Each 2” Masters of the Universe mini figure features six points of articulation (head, shoulders, wrists and waist) and comes with two accessories. King He-Man comes with his royal staff and his battle-damaged “electronic” Power Sword, while Clawful comes with his green Orkas Island mace and an oversized attack clawl. He-Man fans can purchase this MOTU Minis set at 9am PST on December 15th at the Matty Collector online store for $20.

Yesterday Galerie F released their exclusive colorway of JC Rivera’s killer Dead as F#ck Camp resin figure! The Evil as F#ck Champ features a black bear with red, white and gold accents. Produced by We Are Not Toys, this limited edition 5.5” hand cast and hand painted rotocast resin figure can be purchased at the Galerie F online store for $65. Each figure includes a free 8”x10” hand pulled Dead as F#ck screen print.

Hasbro has taken its Star Wars Black 6” action figure line to the next level with this wave of “deluxe” figures! Star Wars Deluxe Black Series Wave 1 includes Jabba the Hutt and a Speeder Bike with Biker Scout. These out of this world 6” scale figures were developed in conjunction with Lucasfilm, Hasbro, and Gentle Giant to bring you the highest level of detail and authenticity at a price that can't be beat. The Speeder Bike is the first Black Series 6” scale vehicle, but I have a feeling we’ll be seeing a lot more! Any guesses as to what we might see next?

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Gentle Giant returns its focus on the Empire Strikes Back for its newest Jumbo Vintage Kenner Star Wars action figure, an Ugnaught! Who wouldn’t want an 8.5” version of Cloud City’s most unfriendly inhabitants? Digitally scanned from mint 3 ¾” Kenner originals and reproduced to a substantial 12" scale, this Ugnaught Jumbo Vintage Kenner Star Wars action figure by Gentle Giant is an exact replica of the classic toy!

Roto and injection molded and made of durable plastics, this jumbo figure includes a faithfully reproduced tool kit and fabric apron, is fully articulated just like the original figure, and comes packaged on an Empire Strikes Back inspired blister card (featuring original photos and artwork) with a plastic outer clam shell to help protect and display this awesome action figure.

Buff Monster has some amazing things in store for Black Friday, including new goodies, a few older things, big discounts and free gifts (with purchase). One of these big Black Friday releases is this series of one of a kind “One-Off” Zombie Mister Melty vinyl figures. Each 3” vinyl figure is cast in soft Japanese vinyl, comes hand painted by Buff and signed by the artist. These seriously look fantastic! Look for these Black Friday Edition Zombie Mister Melty vinyl figures to drop on Friday, November 28th, at Buff Monster’s online store.

After unveiling them at Designer Con 2014, Skinner is all set to release his very first self-produced sofubi vinyl figures on the blackest of Fridays!!! Meet Morgoog, the whispering prince, and Ogos, the eye of the world. For these figures Skinner tried to mix the right balance of ‘80s nostalgia, Kaiju giant monster cinema energy, as well as mythology and tripped out weirdness. The Blot would say he hit the nail on the head with these two behemoths.

For their first colorway, Morgogg and Ogos will be available in unpainted “Gamma Ray” green soft Japanese vinyl. Each figure stands 13” tall, features 6 points of articulation and can be purchased at Skinner’s online store for $175 each or $300 for the pair this Friday, November 28th at noon PST.

Morgogg, the Whispering Prince, was born with an evil in him that would not stop growing! His tiny whispering face on the back of his skull will drive you mad. Within his cursed club lies the soul of his mother, who was trapped the day he was born. Their village had ostracized them to live in the mountains where they have only each other to keep company.

Ogos, the Eye of the World, was born to kill the bravest warriors that find their way to his island. All Cyclops weakest point is their eye. That is why the mad gods that birthed him have given his club many eyes to find their target. For even if the Cyclops may lose sight in his one angry eye, there are several more that may guide him through the power of his club! May you never wash ashore on the island of Cyclopes.

Monday, November 24, 2014

kaNO’s signature figure, the Moneygrip, returns this Friday for a very special Black Friday release! This was one of the first vinyl figures The Blot discovered when I first got into the designer art toy scene, and I love that kaNO’s finally bringing back this iconic figure. For the blackest of Fridays, kaNO hand painted a super limited run of these “Black on Black” Moneygrip vinyl figures. Boy does this sculpt look sharp in two shades of black!

The Black Friday Exclusive “Black on Black” Moneygrip Vinyl Figure by kaNO is limited to just 10 pieces and goes on sale this Friday, November 28th, at the kaNO online store.

Le Merde’s Hollis Turd is back! The legendary professional tennis playing vampire returns with spooky glow in the dark vinyl skin with a soft green spray, and red, white, black, olive and blue details. Super7 and Le Merde brought Hollis Turd out of retirement last week, and he’s now available at the Super7 online store (while supplies last) for just $35.

For the second time in the past three months Dark Hall Mansion is teaming up with artist Nicolas Delort to release a beautiful holiday themed, officially licensed Peanuts screen print. Delort’s “A Charlie Brown Christmas” poster is the perfect companion piece to his previously released “It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” Halloween poster. Can The Blot just say once again that I love Delort’s line work!

Charles Schulz's 1965 masterpiece, A Charlie Brown Christmas, is a timeless classic that has celebrated the holiday season for almost 50 years. Flawlessly written by Charles Schulz, beautifully directed and animated by Bill Melendez and team, and of course, brilliantly scored by Vince Guaraldi, this film, perhaps more than any other, quietly, humorously, and evocatively reminds us in poetic and lyrical fashion just what the true meaning of Christmas really is.

A Charlie Brown Christmas by Nicolas Delort is an 18”x24” screen print. The Standard Edition has a limited edition run size of 375 pieces and will retail for $65, while the Variant is limited to 80 pieces and will retail for $100. There is also a super rare Foil Edition limited to just 30 pieces and retailing for $150 each. All three prints go on sale this Tuesday, November 25th, at Dark Hall Mansion's online store at a random time between 9:30am and 12pm PST.

Sunday, November 23, 2014

To coincide with the release of the new Bad News 8” and 3” Dunny vinyl figures, Brooklyn based streetwear company Mishka and Kidrobot have also teamed up with produce a new collection of t-shirts based on Mishka’s iconic Keep Watch character. The Blot was happy to see Mishka’s Death Adder also make an appearance in this micro-collection! Longtime fans of both Mishka and Kidrobot will definitely want to pick up one of these killer designs.

All three t-shirts in the Kidrobot x Mishka Bad News Dunny T-Shirt Collection are currently available in the Kidrobot online store in sizes S-XXL for $30-36 each.

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Funko’s Dancing Groot Pop! Marvel vinyl figure has quickly become the hottest Guardians of the Galaxy toys on the market, and it hasn’t even been released yet. So you know this “Ravagers Logo” Dancing Groot Pop! variant is going highly sought after, and it can only be purchased from our friends at Entertainment Earth! The Blot honestly didn’t think a variant with this design would be possible, but Funko and EE proved me wrong with this new red pot design featuring the Ravagers logo.

Friday, November 21, 2014

Grey Matter Art has announced its next project, and it’s a big one! GMA has curated a new screen print series to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the classic horror film, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. For this very special project, Grey Matter Art is teaming up with four incredible artists, Florian Bertmer, Grzegorz Domaradzki, Jason Edmiston, and Francesco Francavilla, who have each designed a unique take on the iconic movie. To kick things off, GMA will be releasing Bertmer’s print first next week!

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre by Florian Bertmer is a 36”x24” screen print. The Regular Edition has a limited edition run size of 200 pieces and will retail for $50, while the Variant is limited to 125 pieces and will retail for $60. Both prints go on sale at a random time between 1-2pm EST on Tuesday, November 25th, at the Grey Matter Art online store.

GMA is also offering a very limited subscription for its The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Screen Print Series. The Regular Edition Subscription includes 4 movie posters, one from each artist, a Grey Matter Art t-shirt and free shipping for $174.99. The Variant Edition Subscription includes 4 Regular Edition posters, one from each artist, 4 Variant posters, one from each artist, a Foil Variant of Grzegorz Domaradzki’s screen print, a GMA t-shirt and free shipping for $419.99.

First Gentle Giant launches a line of jumbo vintage action figures based on Kenner’s classic Star Wars toy line, and then just last month they announced a new line of jumbo vintage action figures based on Hasbro’s iconic G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero line. Now, Gentle Giant changes the game once again by unveiling a new line of Marvel’s Secret Wars jumbo vintage action figures based on Mattel’s old school ‘80s toy line based on the comic book mini-series of the same name. The Blot had all of these figures as a kid, and I can’t wait to see Gentle Giant’s take on this slice of my childhood.

If you’re not familiar with Secret Wars, it was a 12 part mini-series from Marvel Comics published in 1984 that introduced the character of The Beyonder to the Marvel Universe. The Beyonder assembles a planet from chunks of other planets and dubs it “Battleworld”. He then kidnaps several heroes and villains from Earth, and transplants them on Battleworld to fight for The Beyonder's amusement. During this story-line, Spider-Man discovers his black suit on Battleworld, which not only goes on to redefine Spider-Man, but ultimately becomes one of his worst enemies as the villain Venom!

The series was tied into the immensely popular Secret Wars action figure collection by Mattel. Each figure included their signature lenticular shield that was unique to the series. The line spawned 2 series of figures, as well as vehicles and playsets. The first figure in this exciting new series is the Black Costume Spider-Man! Digitally scanned from the original Mattel Secret Wars figures and reproduced in 12” scale, no detail has been overlooked. Roto and injection molded and made of durable plastics, this fully-articulated Black Costume Spider-Man jumbo figure includes a faithfully re-produced lenticular shield and comes packaged with a Secret Wars-inspired backer card featuring original photos and artwork in a resealable plastic outer clam shell.

Diamond Select Toys and Art Asylum have announced the newest wave of The Walking Dead Minimates, and it’s jammed packed with key characters from the comic book series’ recently concluded storyline “All Out War”! The Walking Dead Minimates Series 7 includes Rick with Jesus, Negan with his trusty barbwire wrapped bat Lucille and Dwight, Marauder leader Chris with Zombie Holly, and a one per case variant set of Scavenger leader Derek with Zombie Holly. I’m really surprised DST decided to pair the four main characters in this series into just two sets. They usually split up the “popular” characters into their own sets with random zombies to sell more sets. I guess this is a win for us collectors!

Each Minimate mini-figure stands 2 inches tall, with 14 points of articulation and a variety of interchangeable parts and accessories. While The Walking Dead Series 7 is not expected to hit store shelves until June 2015, you can pre-order a complete set now from Entertainment Earth for just $24.99 here.

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Holy moly, Super7 is finally releasing a new full sized colorway of their lovable mascot Mummy Boy! It’s been way too long since S7 released a new version of one of The Blot’s favorite figures, and this edition is pretty awesome. I love how it actually looks like a real live mummy! After taking a nice long nap in his sarcophagus, Mummy Boy emerges from his slumber with his old dusty bandages cast in ivory soft Japanese vinyl with tan and white paint sprays on top of a brown rub treatment, with bright red accents. Does this Mummy Boy look legit or what!?!

This weekend Flabslab will be releasing Luke Chueh’s hotly anticipated new Star Wars inspired statue, “Boba”! This awesome resin bust is the perfect mash-up of the world’s most dangerous bounty hunter, Boba Fett, with the world’s most delicious drink, boba milk tea. Two bobas in one figure, what more could you ask for!?! To commemorate the release, Luke is heading to Singapore with original artwork, prints, stickers, and other collectables for an event Flabslab has named “3B: Boba, Bears, and Bounty Hunters.”

The Boba Star Wars bust by Luke Chueh will be released at the 3B opening reception this Friday, November 21st, at Flabslab. Any remaining pieces will be made available after the show at the Flabslab online store for $300 each.

Yesterday was a huge day for the designer art toy world when Kidrobot announced it was to be acquired by National Entertainment Collectibles Association (or NECA for short). The plan is for Kidrobot to finally be run again as an artist driven company under the creative direction of Frank Kozik! If you ask The Blot this is fantastic news and will finally allow KR to return to its roots as a purveyor of cool and a leader in both the world of art and limited edition designer toys. I can’t wait to see what Kozik and NECA have in store for the Dunny, Munny, Labbit and all their friends!

Here’s the official press release: In an announcement sure to bring cheers and tears of joy to die-hard fans and artists, KR Purchase, LLC (a wholly owned subsidiary of National Entertainment Collectibles Association) and Kidrobot today announced the signing of a definitive agreement under which KR Purchase will acquire Kidrobot. The globally recognized creator of designer vinyl toys joins the growing NECA family of specialty entertainment companies, and will proceed as an artist-run company under the creative direction of Frank Kozik, renowned graphic artist and creator of the Labbit urban vinyl toy line.

“It’s rare to have the opportunity to join forces with an artist-centric company like this,” said Joel Weinshanker, COO of NECA. “We are doubly thrilled to be able to allow it to grow organically and flourish on its own, which is what we’re certain it will do with the involvement of Frank Kozik as Creative Director.”

“When Joel and NECA approached us about joining forces, about his intention to support us and allow Kidrobot to move forward with autonomy, I knew we had found the right partner," said Bob Africa, President of Kidrobot. “The timing of Frank agreeing to join us could not have been better and we are incredibly excited about Kidrobot’s future.”

Kidrobot will remain headquartered in their Boulder offices, while they are supported by NECA’s (located in Hillside, NJ) vast network of suppliers, creatives and internal team members.

Later today Mondo will be releasing its third batch of prints from their “75 Years of Batman” group art show! This epic gallery show celebrates the 75th anniversary of the first publication of a Batman comic book by DC Comics. The theme of 75 Years of Batman: Part 3 is movies, with all of these prints inspired by the Dark Knight’s many appearances on the big screen. This final wave of Batman prints includes designs by Kevin Tong, Craig Drake, Phantom City Creative, Jay Shaw, DKNG and Jason Edmiston. All of the prints seen here will go on sale at a random time today, Thursday, November 20th, at the Mondo online store.

“Batman Begins” by Kevin Tong is an 18”x24” hand numbered screen print. Hand Numbered. It has a limited edition run size of 275 pieces and will retail for $45.

“Catwoman” by Craig Drake is a 24”x36” hand numbered screen print. It has a limited edition run size of 175 pieces and will retail for $50.

“The Dark Knight” by Phantom City Creative is an 18”x24” hand numbered screen print. It has a limited edition run size of 235 pieces and will retail for $45.

“The Dark Knight” by Kevin Tong is a 24”x36” hand numbered screen print. It has a limited edition run size of 275 pieces and will retail for $45.

“The Dark Knight (Variant)” by Kevin Tong is a 24”x36” hand numbered screen print. It has a limited edition run size of 150 pieces and will retail for $65.

Hong Kong Edition “The Dark Knight” by Kevin Tong is a 24”x36” hand numbered screen print. It has a limited edition run size of 225 pieces and will retail for $45.

Hong Kong Edition “The Dark Knight (Variant)” by Kevin Tong is a 24”x36” hand numbered screen print. It has a limited edition run size of 125 pieces and will retail for $65.

“The Dark Knight Rises” by Kevin Tong is an 18”x24” hand numbered screen print. It has a limited edition run size of 275 pieces and will retail for $45.

“The Dark Knight Rises (Variant)” by Kevin Tong is an 18”x24” hand numbered screen print. It has a limited edition run size of 150 pieces and will retail for $65.

“The Dark Knight Rises” by Jay Shaw is an 18”x24” hand numbered screen print. It has a limited edition run size of 100 pieces and will retail for $40.

“The Tumbler” by DKNG is an 18”x24” hand numbered screen print. It has a limited edition run size of 225 pieces and will retail for $40.

“Watch the World Burn” by Jason Edmiston is an 18”x24” hand numbered giclee. It has a limited edition run size of 275 pieces and will retail for $75.

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

The Blot’s been waiting for these new Spider-Man Hikari Japanese Vinyl Figures to drop ever since I first saw a pic of them on display at Funko's San Diego Comic-Con 2014 booth! I just had no idea they would be Premium Edition Hikari that stand over 10” tall. Is it just me or are they going to look a little strange next to the Groot Hikari that’s 11” tall? Groot really should tower over Spider-Man. To launch this new figure, Funko has released three new Spider-Man Hikari colorways in a very short period of time: “Blaze” (LE 1,500), “New Dimension” Edition (LE 1,500) and the Barnes and Noble Exclusive “Dangerous” (LE 1,000), which features beautiful marbled black and grey vinyl.

Hikari, meaning “light”, is a highly collectible line of clear/translucent figures cast in soft Japanese vinyl. Each Amazing Spider-Man 2 Hikari vinyl figure includes a hand numbered card to prove authenticity and rarity, and comes packaged in a full color window box perfect for display. These Marvel Hikari colorways are available for purchase now! The B&N exclusive colorway can be ordered here for $74.95, while the other two colorways can be ordered from Entertainment Earth for $79.99 each here.